Overview
- President Trump attacked Pope Leo XIV on Truth Social Sunday night, calling him “WEAK on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy,” and he suggested the pope was chosen because he is American.
- Following Sunday’s post, he shared an AI-generated image that cast him in a Jesus-like healing scene, a graphic he removed Monday after telling reporters he thought it showed him as a doctor with the Red Cross.
- Pope Leo, speaking to reporters Monday on a flight to Africa, said he has no fear of the administration and pledged to keep urging a ceasefire, diplomacy, and protection of civilians in the Iran war.
- Criticism poured in from church leaders and conservatives, with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and right-leaning commentators calling the image offensive or blasphemous.
- The clash is now a political test for the White House, as analysts warn of damage with Catholic and other religious voters, and Vice President JD Vance said the Vatican should focus on morality while the president sets U.S. policy.